Why has gender equality always been a ‘women's issue’? The men who sit back and joke about women's ‘need’ for equality are making a big mistake! If they would only think beyond the stereotypical parameters of gender roles, they will realise that their lives too are just as strongly influenced by gender as those of women and that they too have a lot to gain in ensuring gender equality.

Men and women are really very similar beings. Problems arise because our socialisation dictates how each gender should think, feel and act. Expectation of men to be strong, powerful and successful is a big price to pay for manhood. It does not come so naturally to all men and those who don't conform face tremendous social pressures and ridicule. These stereotypes have been passed on for generations and are so much a part of our psyche that many of us even justify it! Breaking out of it has to be a conscious and deliberate effort for both men and women alike. 

Similarly, expectations of men as ‘providers’ place tremendous stress on many men. They pay for their so-called ‘superior’ status by working long and hard. Several of them in their need to be successful, miss out on significant family events and lose out on the joys of raising and caring for young kids and parents. 

For the same reasons, the thought of losing a job is traumatic to the male ego.

With gender equality, women will be able to cushion them through the ups and downs of their careers without their manhood being questioned.

Stereotypical expectations have also impacted the kinds of jobs men take up. Power and success being important traits of manhood, many men are pushed to pursue ‘manly’ professions in engineering, sciences and technology. We all know of talented men who have suffered unhappy lives and mediocre careers because their true interests and passion lay in ‘feminine’ subjects such as in arts or humanities and they did not have social sanction to pursue it. A gender equal society will mean a more fulfilled and happier community of people!

With gender equality, men can be more like they really want to be. They can participate in nurturing and caring roles without risking their ‘stereotyped’ masculinity. Like women, men too feel sad or hurt and may even want to cry, but they learn to hide their pain for the public image. A gender equal society will make it safer for men to express their softer/vulnerable side and be accepted and valued as the real human beings they actually are.
The achievement of gender equality implies a conscious redefinition of roles for both men and women. When women come together this International Women's' Day, men too must take the opportunity to reassess their lives. Good time now to look at joining hands with women to create a new world order. A world, where both men and women can express themselves in their varied hues without the shackles of their gender roles.


The author is founder and CEO, Interweave Consulting Pvt Ltd, a diversity and inclusiveness solutions company.